To Trim the Buds
by Kataraang0
Summary: At a party celebrating the defeat of Orizaba, Mateo decides to let Naomi in on an important discovery.


**To Trim the Buds**

 **A/N The beginning of my headcanons, set after "The Scepter of Light"**

She tugs at her skirt to smooth the wrinkles, flicks her bangs out of her eyes, triple checks that she has nothing stuck in her teeth, then rushes out of the cabin and down the gang plank.

At the palace gardens she's bent over, a little out of breath, when Elena tackles her with a hug, barely giving her a chance to fix her posture.

"Naomi! You're back!"

"Haha! Yeah, I am! It's good to see you, too!"

Elena lets go, but rests her hands lightly on her friend's arms.

"How was your trip?"

Naomi shrugs, "Pretty routine."

"You got a new dress. It's beautiful!" Elena comments, looking Naomi up and down, an excited red tint on her cheeks.

"Thanks! Yeah, happy to be rid of the old one," Naomi says, and continues before Elena can cut her off, "So, um, I heard a lot of stuff went down while I was gone. Are you doing ok?"

"Oh, I'm perfect, actually." Elena clasps her hands in front of her, "Thanks to Mateo mostly."

"Oh yeah?" And speak of the wizard, Naomi spots him heading towards them over Elena's shoulder.

"Hey!" she says, elbowing his arm playfully as he reaches them, "We were just talking about you! _Mostly_ good things."

" _All_ good things." Elena corrects her with a bump of her shoulder.

Mateo grins at the two of them, "Heh, I'm sure it's never all good - whenever you talk about anyone. But thank you..." He's not sure how much Naomi knows about what happened and thinks he might not even bring it up, when he finds himself distracted by what she's wearing. It's a mostly aqua dress, like the color of her favorite skirt, with navy trim. It has a scoop neckline, but a small cutout underneath gives it a lower sweetheart neckline as well. The color and cut of the dress flatter her figure and fit her personality much better than her original one. "Wow. You, uh...look really nice."

Naomi blushes at the sudden compliment, "Well, you look exactly the same."

Which isn't entirely true - he has on his vest with the gold trim because, he claims, it's nicer than his green one and it's too hot to wear his robe. It's the first time Naomi's seen it.

In regards to her comment, Mateo typically has two responses to Naomi's jibes - one of which is blushing and looking a bit hurt, while the other is smiling and shaking his head. Here he opts for the second, and Naomi didn't realize her blush could deepen.

"I'm glad you're back." he says jovially, "This one really missed you." He points at Elena.

"Wha - Elena, I was only gone for a few days."

"Well, yes. But they were days with council meetings and big events!" Elena explains.

"Speaking of big events -"

"Hey Naomi!" Gabe greets her with an arm across her shoulders, "You look nice. Is that a new dress?"

"Thanks. It is."

"Good. I mean, no offense, but the other one wasn't doing much for you."

"...Well, you're not wrong. It was a hand-me-down from one of my dad's trading partners. And I mean, so was this one. From a different person. Her daughter had better taste."

It's silent for a moment before Gabe tries to change the subject, "Anyway, have these two even let you enjoy the party yet? You got here just in time, the band is ready to play. If you'll excuse me."

"Oh, Gabe, you don't have to -" Elena's protest dies out as the royal guard takes up position by a tent pole.

The palace gardens have been set up fairly modestly: there's only a single tent for refreshments, a gazebo for the band, a few tables and chairs throughout the lawn, and streamers criss-crossing through the trees.

After her energy had returned, Elena wanted to throw a small party to celebrate the defeat of Orizaba, inviting a few foreign ministers to discuss trade agreements. Wouldn't want to be _entirely_ unproductive!

The princess didn't think she had enough energy to celebrate with all her people just yet. Thankfully, the townspeople had already celebrated on their own, and had celebrated some more when they found out Elena was okay. So the small party is just enough.

Music has started up and Elena runs to Gabe to get him to relax, maybe convince him to dance with someone. Isa looks kind of bored now that she's made her rounds of the buffet...

"Do you want to dance?" Naomi asks Mateo.

"Uh, w-well..."

Naomi sighs, a little exasperated, "Nevermind, we don't have to."

"No, it's just - "

"Naomi, care to dance?" Elena has popped back up behind her.

"Oh!" So that was why Mateo had declined, "Um. Yeah, sure."

The princess pulls her friend to the dance floor, then lets go of her hand to clap. Into a fandango position. Naomi moves mirror to her. On the next downbeat, the girls start to dance in twists and circles around each other, clapping and laughing and glancing at each other over their shoulders as they spin.

As she twirls across the lawn, Naomi finds that looking between Elena and Mateo helps her keep her balance. Gabe and Isabel, Esteban and Dona Paloma also flash by in whirls of color

When the song finishes, the girls giggle and hug and head back to Mateo, but he's disappeared into some other part of the gardens.

Elena asks Naomi if they should go look for him. She shrugs, "Probably."

"Yes, we _should_." Elena prompts her, but before she can go with her, Esteban calls her away. She glances at Naomi before she turns, "I know you can handle it!"

Naomi's put out - she didn't rush to the party just to babysit her friend. But it's her job now, by order of the princess. So she sighs and walks along the nearest hedge.

* * *

She finds Mateo on a bench by a small pond, throwing bits of grass into the water.

"Hey, Mateo! There you are. Elena sent me to find you."

"Did she?"

"Yeah. Joining the party again any time soon?"

He shrugs.

"Hey, what happened?"

"With Orizaba, you mean?"

Naomi blinks, "Well, no, I meant with you. But sure. What happened with Orizaba?"

So Mateo explained how Elena's scepter was magic, and how it worked, and why she had to use it.

"...And what did you do?"

"Not much, I -"

"I know that's not true. No point in using false modesty with me, Mateo. I heard you were a hero. I'm sorry I missed it."

"...Elena made me feel really important that day, but all I did was encourage her to use her scepter even when I knew it would hurt her. I'm not a hero - I didn't even see if I could do anything with my magic."

"I'm sure you did everything you could -"

"Well it wasn't enough!"

His unusual agitation quickly rubbed off on her, "Well you know what? She's fine now! Don't be a wimp and beat yourself up about it, just do better next time!"

She grabs a clump of grass from his hand and throws it into the pond.

"I'm sorry I yelled." She says grumpily and sits on the bench. In truth, she's a bit jealous that Mateo had been able to help at all, unlike herself.

"Me too." Mateo says, "And...that's not entirely why I left." He hadn't planned to tell Naomi this, but he felt she deserved to know, "After the eclipse, I thought there was something between me and Elena. You know how she is - she was encouraging and caring. And, y'know, she's the princess and she's beautiful and, well, she's very easy to...love." he's blushing furiously, but continues, "Anyway. I thought there might have been a possibility that she felt something back. But...I think she likes you."

"...What?"

"I don't know how I didn't see it before. I guess you and I haven't been around Elena at the same time much. But she...looks at you differently." _Sees something in you that I don't. Something in you that she doesn't see in me_ , Mateo thinks as he regards her closely, "Differently than she looks at Gabe. Or me. And I thought back and realized that she's always been very careful about making sure that me and Gabe knew we were just her friends."

Naomi makes sure to meet his eyes, "Are you trying to say that Elena likes girls?"

"I mean, I haven't asked her yet, but -"

He stops at her pitying expression.

"Oh no, Mateo. I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you! I already know that! I tried to talk about boys with her once, and she told me then. But," she takes some more grass from him, "it doesn't mean she likes me any more than she likes you or Gabe. I mean, we're best friends! Of course she'll act differently with me."

They throw the rest of the grass in the water.

"I mean, that doesn't change your situation and I'm sorry about that," Naomi continues, "but I promise that she doesn't like me that way either."

Mateo glances doubtfully at her, "I wouldn't be too sure about that."

Naomi ponders it for a moment, then shrugs. She stands and offers Mateo her arm. They head back to the party.

* * *

Elena's face shines like a beacon when she spots them. She waves excitedly across the lawn, then turns back to the duke she was talking to.

As soon as she gets a break, she practically bounces over to them, "I'm so glad you're back! Are you guys ok?"

Mateo avoids Elena's gaze by looking at the streamers above her head, "Um." He scratches his neck and finds enough composure to meet her concerned eyes again, "We will be." He smiles sheepishly, with embarrassment and a touch of sadness but not with nerves anymore.

He gives a slight bow to the princess and heads towards Gabe, who is once again standing at attention under the shade of a tree.

The girls look after him for a moment, then Elena clears her throat, "Did, uh, something happen between you two?"

Her voice is almost playful, but when Naomi glances over she's met with the side of the princess' head, who's still staring after Mateo, and looking down she sees her hands twisted at her waist.

The sailor laughs quietly and shakes her head, "No. Nothing like that." And she feels the girl beside her stand straighter, notices a giddy nervous energy that hadn't been there before. The princess nods and meets Naomi's eyes again, "Ok."

She holds her hand out, "Come on, I'd like you to meet Viscount Hernandez. He's over with Dona Paloma talking about trade goods, but he really wants to know about the trade _routes_ , which I think you probably know a little more about."

"My lord, this is Naomi Turner..." Elena taps her hand on Naomi's lower back, who startles and remembers to curtsy. The princess smiles at her and turns back to refocus the conversation.

She doesn't move her hand away.

"Miss Turner, I've been told you're very familiar with maritime transportation…."

* * *

Much later, when the sun and moon are switching positions in their watch and bathing everything a dull orange, the party has wound down and Naomi decides she should go before it's too dark to walk home.

Elena gives her a big hug before Gabe and the other guards escort the royal family and visiting nobles back into the palace.

"See you at the council meeting tomorrow, Miss Turner!" she winks and squeezes her friend's hands.

She waves goodbye as she runs over to Isabel, who is taking the last of the sweets off the servants' hands as they tidy up, leaving Naomi alone among the stacks of chairs and piles of streamers.

She jumps when someone taps her on the shoulder.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself," Naomi sighs with annoyance as she turns at the recognized voice. Before she can say any cutting remarks, Mateo interrupts her.

"Want me to walk you home?"

She blushes at her anger towards his kind gesture and keeps her mouth shut. And finds that she's biting her lip to stop it's sudden trembling.

Mateo gently takes her by the arm and moves her away beyond the clean up crew and through the courtyard to stop outside the palace walls, beyond any peering royalty.

Her lip's stopped trembling, but she's still stiff and agitated.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mateo asks, but she jerks her arm from him and walks away. and he follows a short distance behind.

They walk in silence.

* * *

They're just a few blocks from Naomi's house when she stops and turns back to her friend.

"Sorry I was acting weird."

"You weren't acting _that_ weird…"

"I just…feel bad, I guess, knowing that you and Gabe like Elena. And I'm not sure what to do. I…I mean, I'm…" she takes a deep breath and looks upward, "I'm bi. But I'm not sure I like Elena that way. Yet? And I'm not even sure she likes _me_ that way, just that she likes girls. And I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship. Or be a biased councilor. And I'm not sure if I'm just reading into things because _you_ put it in my head! But...maybe you were right. There was something about our dance and the way she was acting around me...But if I'm wrong...If I'm wrong it could ruin everything!"

Mateo waits for a bit, til he notices Naomi starting to chew her lip again, "Naomi, was that the first time you've told anyone that?"

She looks up, confused, "Told anyone what?"

"That you're bisexual."

She rubs at her arm with a huff, "…No."

"Oh. Ok. Well, thank you for telling me anyway."

"Anyway, that's not important."

"I mean, I think it's pretty important - "

"Mateo! What am I supposed to do now?"

Mateo shrugs, "Act normally. Just stay friends. You're right, you don't know anything new. I was just being presumptuous. And it's not like Elena knows any different. Just treat her like you normally do and see if it goes anywhere. It might not be anything, don't get ahead of yourself."

Naomi nods, her shoulders relaxing, "Ok. I can do that. Thanks, Mateo." She steps forward and gives him a hug.

"You really don't have to do that, I was the one who got you all stressed out in the first place - "

"Just accept my hug, you jerk."

* * *

 **To be continued in a future story...**


End file.
